Out Of The Shadows
by FiercestCalm
Summary: The Gundam pilots have decided to take an extended stay at a safehouse. When someone unexpected joins them, termpers (and sexual tension) rise. It's also a musical! YAOI!!!!!!!!!
1. Chapter 1

Out of the Shadows  
A Mega-Musical  
By Piper and Cameron   
[Cameron]  
Crouching down inside a deep ravine  
Those angry cries pass quickly by can't be seen   
So many ways spent hiding in so many undone plans  
Forgetting what it's like to fight when no one understands  
Close call there in the shadows  
There's no end to the dark  
There's no one out there   
All those memories pain and anger flood back one by one  
They must be just around the bend they always come  
At night as I lay sleeping they come to me in hands  
Their lies remain the dreams the same it's only fleeting words  
No one calls there in the shadows  
There's no end to the dark  
Cause there's no one out there no one but me  
The hours pass so slowly the life's slipping out of me   
No way's the right way is there a way out for me  
My life's slipping out…  
Rising up the night is done and bright lights come  
Held back in my pitied world where everything's undone  
A cold wind blows right through me I'm made a hollow shell  
There's nothing left just ash remains enrich the soul no soul no soul  
Some one calls there in the shadows  
There's an end to the dark  
Cause there's someone out there someone like me  
The hours pass so slowly the life's slipping out of me  
No way's the right way is there a way out for me  
The hours pass so slowly the life's slipping out of me is there a way out for me  
The hours pass so slowly the life's slipping out of me is there a way out for me  
There must be a way out for me (1)  
  
Quatre pressed a button and found himself looking at the other gundam pilots. He smiled slightly.  
"How about we all go back to the safehouse for tonight? I think we could all use some rest." There were various signs of agreement, so Quatre pressed another button and ended the transmission. As soon as the pilots' faces disappeared from the screen he slumped down in his seat, sighing as his smile faded. He began singing in a low voice.  
I have a smile stretched from ear to ear   
to see you walkin down the road  
He touched a small picture of Trowa tucked in between some controls.  
We meet at the lights,   
I stare for a while,   
the world around us disappears,   
just you and me on this island of hope,  
a breath between us could be miles,  
let me surround you my sea to your shore  
let me be the calm you seek   
oh and every time I'm close to you  
there's too much I can't say and you just walk away  
and I forgot to tell you I love you and the night's too long and cold here without you   
I grieve in my condition for I cannot find the strength to say I need you so   
Oh and every time I'm close to you there's too much I can't say and you just walk away  
And I forgot to tell you I love you and the night's too long and cold here without you.(2)  
He sighed again and when he reached the safehouse he hurried out of his gundam so he wouldn't run into the other pilots. A couple of minutes later the other gundams landed and their pilots got out. Duo seemed unusually happy.  
"Hey Heero, guess what I want!"  
"A small dark closet?"  
"No silly! Wait…"  
where was I? I forgot   
the point that I was making  
"Oh!"  
I said if I was smart that I would  
Save up for a piece of string and a rock to wind the string around.  
"…What would the point of that be?"  
"Shut up, Heero!"  
Everybody  
He looked pointedly at Heero.  
Wants a rock  
To wind a piece of string around.  
Throw the crib door wide  
Let the people crawl inside.  
Some one in this town  
He pointed at Heero.  
Is trying to burn their playhouse down.  
They want to stop the ones who want  
A rock to wind a string around  
But everybody wants a rock  
To wind a piece of string around.(3)  
Duo stopped abruptly.   
"Where's Q-man?"  
"His gundam's already here, so he's probably already inside." Trowa pointed out calmly.   
"Oh." Duo said. He looked at Heero. "I bet HE wants a rock to wind a piece of string around." Heero hit him lightly on the head as they walked inside the house. Duo and Heero walked quickly into their room, not to emerge for quite a while. Trowa looked around and found Quatre's door closed so he joined Wufei, who was sitting on the kitchen counter.   
"I guess it's macaroni and cheese for dinner again." Trowa commented, putting a pot of water on the stove. Wufei shrugged and got out the box and set it on the counter. After it was done Wufei walked out of the kitchen.  
"DINNER!!" he yelled. Heero, Duo, and Quatre walked out of their rooms. Heero and Duo took their bowls, looked at each other, then hurried back to their rooms. Trowa handed Quatre's to him and when their hands touched they both felt a shock. Quatre turned his eyes to the floor.  
"Thank you Trowa. I think I'll eat mine in my room. I'm not feeling very well tonight."  
"Are you alright?"  
"Oh yes, I think I just need some sleep." Quatre took his bowl and hurried to his room. Trowa looked after him a moment before nodding to Wufei and heading to his room with his own bowl.  
[Piper]  
Meanwhile, as Quatre was wallowing in his misery, the lovers were having a quarrel.  
"I can't believe you're being so immature, you know that missions come first," Heero raged at his braided love.  
"I know 'Mr. Perfect Soldier' but I thought for once I'd come first. Besides, you promised you'd stay home this time," Duo yelled back.  
"That was before the mission came in. I thought that you at least would understand that."  
"Well I don't and I guess we can all see what matters most to you. Get out, I don't want to see you!" The braided boy pointed at the door.   
"Fine! We'll talk when I get back after you've grown up!" Heero said as he grabbed his bag that he'd just brought from the previous mission and his laptop and slammed the door.   
He hadn't gotten down the hall before he realized that Duo wanted him to leave. How could the braided baka think that he'd leave him for a mission? Sure missions come first but only because they're the only way to end the war quickly so they could be together all the time. Of course he'd never told Duo that, he just figured that he knew.  
"I'll tell him how I feel when I get back." Heero thought to himself as he walked to the hanger, passing by Wufei and Trowa, giving each a nod goodbye. He climbed into the cockpit of Wing and looked at the picture of Duo he had in there. Heero traced his lover's heart-shaped face before taking off.  
"I love you," he said to an empty cockpit.  
"I hate you," Duo yelled to an empty bedroom. "I hate you so much Heero!" Enraged, Duo went to take a shower when he passed by a picture of Heero and himself on the table. In it he was smiling and Heero held him protectively in his arms.  
"Oh Heero, I miss you already," Duo whispered.  
He no longer felt like taking a shower, instead he decided he needed to talk to someone and who better than Quatre. He went down to the blonde's room where he knocked loudly, then went in.   
"Hey Q-man, can I talk to you?" he asked.   
"You and Heero had a fight and you feel guilty." The Arabian answered without looking up.  
"Whoa, how'd you know? Oh, wait, that Space Heart thingy. I always thought that was cool, I mean…"  
"Duo, do you have a point?" Quatre said, interrupting him.  
"I just wanted to talk. Sorry, didn't know you were in a bad mood. I'll leave," the American answered, heading for the door.   
"Wait. Do you want to tell me what happened?" The empath asked.  
"Yeah. You see it started out good. We went to our room and he checked stuff on his laptop, I went and massaged his neck cause he looked tense and after a few minutes he said he needed to talk to me. Then Wufei came and called out dinner so we went and got our food and came back to our room. We ate like we always do, I talked and he'd go 'hn' every once in a while. Then he said that he got a new mission and needed to leave tonight. See, the problem was he promised to stay home for once. We were gonna go to the beach for the weekend. So we started yelling at each other and I threw him out."  
"Duo, you didn't. You know how sensitive he can be," Quatre said.  
"Sensitive? Heero? Q-man, what are you on? He hardly ever shows emotions and he doesn't let anything get to him."  
"That's what you think. He feels more than people think, especially about you. Remember, I'm an empath, I know how he feels."  
"Quatre, he feels nothing, he's unbreakable."  
"You're wrong, Duo."  
Do you always have to tell him  
Everything on your mind?  
You know that too much  
Honesty can be so unkind  
Everytime you throw him to the floor  
Why are you surprised to see  
He's breakable  
You always try to find   
What's holding him away from you  
But do you ever see your anger  
Standing there right between you?  
And everytime you throw him to the wall  
Why are you surprised to see  
He's breakable  
Tell the world that he's  
breaking your heart  
Go tell the world  
Nothing's ever your fault  
Go tell them all  
Everytime you throw him to the floor   
why are you surprised to see  
He's breakable  
And everytime you push him to  
The wall why are you surprised to see   
He's breakable (4)  
"Think about it Duo, alright?"  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to bed. Thanks," Duo said, but in his head he added, "I think."  
He went back to his room and decided to go straight to bed. As he got in bed he realized how cold the bed felt without Heero. After tossing and turning for a while he fell asleep only to dream of an angel with cobalt eyes and messy brownish hair that was always out of reach.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre lie in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt guilty for being so harsh with Duo but there was nothing he could do about it now. It was another pilot that was keeping him awake, however, the pilot who lie in the room next to him, forest green eyes closed tightly against the dark.  
What would morning taste like with you  
Trowa's voice echoed hollowly in his room.  
Would a shower feel the same with you  
Quatre turned his head into his pillow.  
Did you ever think what loving me could mean  
When you're all alone do you imagine me  
His voice was muffled against the pillow.  
Trowa hugged his pillow against himself.  
Would I smell the same after hugging you  
If I slept in your arms could you sleep too  
Did you ever think what loving me could mean  
When you're alone do you imagine me?"  
Quatre hugged himself.  
Fingers memorizing my skin  
I lose myself so your search can begin  
Contemplating what you might do  
When I'm all alone I'm imagining you  
Trowa touched the wall separating him from Quatre's room.  
If I touched you here would you  
Get the butterflies  
Could I see your chills would you   
Show me how you cry  
Did you ever think what loving me could mean  
When you're all alone do you imagine me  
Quatre held his hand over his heart.  
I can't breathe you took my breath away  
Breathing you'd be worth my last days  
Did you ever think what loving me could mean  
When you're all alone do you imagine me  
Both boys leaned their heads against the wall separating them.   
Contemplating what you might do  
They sang in unison,  
I'm imagining you. (5)  
[Piper]  
'What a sad lot we are,' Wufei thought to himself. He'd known when Yuy left that he and Maxwell had a fight. Usually Maxwell went with him to send him off. He would never understand them and their constant bickering.   
"Like I can talk." Wufei said to his empty room. "I'm in love with a woman who already has a boyfriend."  
Then he remembered the way that Quatre had looked when they landed and Trowa's pained eyes as he watched the blonde go to his room alone.   
"We are sad indeed." He thought to himself." We pilot the deadliest machines man has yet created but socially we are all babes, two of us in love but neither know that the other feels the same way. The other two are lovers yet they forget that so easily. And am I not the worst? Sad, sad, sad."  
Wufei then crawled into bed, dreading the morning when he knew Duo would be depressed along with the other two watching each other.   
"Goodnight Nataku," he said to the empty room as he fell asleep.  
  
  
(1) "Out of the Shadows," Sarah McLachlan  
(2) "I Love You," Sarah McLachlan  
(3)"We Want a Rock," They Might Be Giants  
(4)Fisher, "Breakable"  
(5)Leah Andreone, "Imagining You" 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
[Piper]  
"Bastard," Sally grumbled as she got into her car. She pilled out of the parking lot of her boyfriend's apartment building.   
"Ex-boyfriend," she thought to herself as she drove to her apartment nearby. "At least I never told him what I really do," she said. It started raining outside as she started singing…  
rush hour  
at the day's dawning  
the rain came  
and pushed me under the awning  
the puddles grew  
and threw themselves at me  
with every passing car   
I'm shielding my guitar  
there were some things I   
did not tell him  
there were certain things   
he did not need to know  
there were some days   
that I did not love him  
he didn't understand me  
and I don't know why I didn't go  
he said change the channel  
I got problems of my own  
I'm so sick of hearing about   
drugs and aids and people without homes  
I said, well I'd like to sympathize with that  
but if you can't understand then  
how can you act (1)  
"Damn him. Why do I always pick the idiots. I don't know why I didn't go."  
"Why did he go?" duo thought to himself as he awoke to an empty room. "Why do I push him away?"   
He carefully crawled out of bed, thinking that breakfast would make him feel better. Downstairs he nodded at Wufei as he got coffee. Then he looked back.  
"Wu-man, what happened to you? Did some cat use you as a chew toy?"  
"Thanks for the sympathy, Maxwell. My stomach has decided to rebel against me."  
"Then stop with the coffee," Duo said as he searched through the fridge. "Found it. Here, ginger ale, always good for upset tummies.  
Wufei looked up in surprise as the braided pilot handed him a glass with the clear liquid. He bowed a bit in thanks before getting up and running for the bathroom.   
"Poor guy," Duo said to the now empty kitchen. "Oh Heero, I miss you."  
[Cameron]  
Quatre awoke to the sound of retching in the bathroom beside his bedroom. He moaned and rolled out of bed. He walked out of his room, curious as to who was sick. It was Wufei. He was resting his head against the side of the bathtub, looking very pale. Quatre smiled slightly at him before taking a washcloth and wetting it. He handed it to Wufei, who nodded at him before wiping off his mouth and face. "Hey, at least I won't have to hold back his hair," Quatre thought, glancing at Wufei's still perfect little ponytail. Trowa appeared at the door, looking sleepy.   
"Is everything ok?" he asked.   
"Wufei isn't feeling well." Quatre said. "can you get us a trash can?" Trowa nodded and headed toward the kitchen. Duo was already there, a small trashcan sitting beside him. He handed it to Trowa along with a glass of ginger ale.   
"I'll call Sally." He said, then as a second thought, "after I finish my coffee." Trowa nodded and walked to Wufei's room. Quatre was already there, putting a blanket over Wufei, who was in bed. Trowa set the trashcan down beside the bed and the ginger ale on the bedside table.   
"Duo's calling Sally." He said to the two other pilots. Seeing that Wufei was settled he walked out the door, Quatre following.   
"I asked him what he ate last night and he said just the macaroni and cheese like the rest of us, so unless we start feeling bad it's probably a virus." Quatre said when they were in the hall. Trowa nodded and studied Quatre a moment before beginning to walk back into the kitchen.   
"Trowa!" Quatre called when he got over his discomfort at being studied. Trowa turned to look at him.   
"Well, I was just wondering… uhm, Wufei won't be eating for a while and I think Duo will be eating alone, so, uh, would you like to join me for dinner tonight?" Quatre said nervously, looking at the floor. Trowa walked up to him and put his hand on Quatre's cheek. Quatre looked up at him in surprise.  
"Yes, Quatre, I'll join you for dinner." Trowa said, and he briefly ran his finger across the bags under Quatre's eyes. "and you should probably go back to sleep for a while. He then quickly pulled his hand away and turned around before Quatre could see his cheeks coloring. Quatre stood staring after him for a moment before hurrying to his room.  
[Piper]  
"Why hasn't he answered?" Heero asked his laptop angrily. "Where is he?"   
He'd sent a message to Duo the night before and he still hadn't gotten an answer back. So the cobalt eyed pilot sat in front of his laptop waiting for his lover to respond. Wing was on autopilot to the base he had to blow up. A simple mission, get in, get out.   
"Hello," he said to the empty cockpit, then he began singing.   
Hello, hello  
Are you out there?  
N.O.D. Are you out there?  
I can't see your face  
But you left a trace on a data back-road  
That I almost erased  
Not even God takes this long to get back  
So get back  
'Cause I hit a fork in the road  
I lost my way home  
I'm cut off from our main line  
Like a disconnected modem  
Hello  
Tap in the code  
I'll reach you below  
No one should brave the underworld alone  
Hello, hello, hello  
How do I reach you?  
Word has it on the wire  
That you don't know who you are  
Well if you could jack into my brain  
You'd know exactly what you mean here  
Mothers are trails on stars in the night  
Fathers are black holes that suck up the light  
That's the memory I filed on the fringe  
Along with the memory of the pain you lived in  
Hello  
I don't have the password  
But the path is chainlinked  
So if you've got the time  
Set the tone to sync  
Tap in the code   
I'll reach you below  
Hello, hello  
Are you out there? (2)  
"Duo, are you out there?"  
"Damn it! Of all the bad luck. That bastard landlord, I paid him and he knows it. Now where am I gonna stay?" Sally asked her empty car.  
An hour earlier she's arrived at her apartment to find that she'd been evicted. Apparently she'd never sent her check for last month. She'd gotten together all her personal belongings, not that she'd had a lot, she was a soldier after all and the apartment had come furnished.  
"I guess I can live on the base, but I hate staying there," she said to herself. Then her cell phone started ring.   
"Hello. Po here," she said stiffly.  
"Hey Sally, it's Duo. You're not busy are you cause Wuffies sick and we don't know what it is and it's not food poisoning or nothin cause we all ate the same thing yesterday and we can't go to the doctor's cause how would we explain who we are and then…"  
"Duo, stop," she interrupted. "I'm free and I can come but I need a favor in return."  
"What kind of favor?"  
"My jackass landlord threw me out and I need a place to stay."  
"You can stay here. The only thing left is the couch but I guess…"  
"Duo, that's fine. Now I need directions."  
"Well, are you a January girl?"  
"A what? Duo, just…"  
She was a january girl  
She never let on how insane it   
Was in that tiny kinda  
Scary house by the  
Woods by the… (3)  
"DUO! Just give me directions."  
"Sorry."  
She listened intently to his directions and started towards their house. This was just the kind of break she needed but she was just slightly worried about living with the gundam pilots. Course she had lived with men before, she had been in the army, after all.  
"Pull together Sal, it can't be that bad," She said to herself, but even she didn't believe it.  
She walked through the woods to the tiny safehouse. She was amazed that the five mismatched pilots could live in such close quarters. Course now they'll be six of them.  
"How did I get into this," she mumbled as she knocked on the door.  
"Hi Trowa," she said to the stoic pilot when he opened the door.  
"Hello Sally," he grunted, then pointed inside, indicating for her to come in.  
"Thanks. Where's Wufei?" she asked. After he pointed out the room she added, "Thank you so much for letting me stay. I had nowhere else to go."  
"You're staying?" Trowa asked, more a statement than anything else.   
"Yeah, Duo said I could since I no longer have an apartment. Where should I put my things?"   
"Duo will get them. Wufei needs you."  
She nodded to him and walked into Wufei's room. The curtains were closed and the room looked dark and foreboding.   
"Wufei?" she asked carefully.  
"Onna? Why are you here? I'm not sick," came the gruff reply from the bed.   
"That's not what the other pilots said," she replied, walking carefully towards the bed. Since he didn't reply she realized that he must be sick. She laid a gentle hand on his forehead. It felt red-hot. She continued to check out his condition until he started to shake.  
"Wufei, what's wrong?"  
"I'm fine."  
"No, you're not. You're cold, aren't you?"  
"Yes. I don't need you to tell me that."  
"Sorry. But you're burning up. Let me finish checking to see what it may be. Do you want another blanket?"  
He nodded and she went and got a blanket from the closet and wrapped him up in it. She continued looking over him as she started singing softly.  
It's a pity, It's a crying shame  
He pulled you down again  
How painful it must be  
To bruise so easily  
Inside  
It's a pity, it's a downright crime  
It happens all the time  
You wanna stay little daddy's girl  
You wanna hide from the viscous world  
Outside  
Don't cry, you know the tears will do no good  
So dry your eyes  
Your daddy, he's the iron man  
Battle shipwrecked on dry land  
Your mamma, she's a bitter bride  
She'll never be satisfied  
You know, and that's not right  
But don't cry  
You know the tears will do no good   
So dry your eyes   
They told you life is hard  
Misery from the start, it's dull  
It's slow, it's painful  
But I tell you life is sweet  
In spite of the misery  
There's so much more, be grateful  
Well, who do you believe  
Who will you listen to, who will it be  
Because it's high time that you decide  
In your own mind  
I've tried to comfort you   
I tried to tell you to be patient  
That they are blind and they can't see  
Fortune gonna come one day  
It all gonna fade away  
Your daddy the war machine   
And your mamma the long and suffering  
Prisoner of what she can not see  
For they told you life is hard  
Misery from the start, it's dull  
It's slow, it's painful  
But I tell you life is sweet  
In spite of the misery  
There's so much more, be grateful  
So who will you believe  
Who will you listen to  
Who will it be  
Because it's high time that you decide  
It's time to make up your own  
Your own state of mind  
They told you life is long  
Be thankful when it's done  
Don't ask for more, be grateful  
But I tell you life is short  
Be thankful, because before you know it  
It will be over  
Because life is sweet  
Life is also very short  
Life is sweet  
And life is all so very short  
Life is sweet  
Life is sweet (4)  
As she finished singing she noticed her charge was asleep/ She sighed to herself and soothed her hand over his brow. It was still warm. She kissed his forehead gently and walked out to get a cold compress.  
"What have I gotten myself into?" she whispered to the room.  
Duo sat on his bed looking at the schematics of Deathscythe. At least that was what it seemed like he was doing. Instead he was dreaming about his lover.  
"Oh, Hee-chan." he said before he heard a loud knock on the door. "Duo, Sally's here." Trowa said as Duo opened the door.  
"Yeah and, oh, um, you were surprised that I offered to let her live here. She had no where else to go and we've got plenty of room. Well, maybe not, but with the five of us coming and going, I'm sure she wouldn't be in the way, and besides now we have a doctor living with us which should save us a lot of trouble, and she's nice company, and, well, um, Trowa-man, are you alright, I mean, usually you'd leave by now and well, um, yeah." Duo babbled to the uni-banged pilot, who hadn't moved the whole time.  
"Her stuffs in the car, put it in the hall closet for now, she's with Wufei right now." Trowa answered back and began to walk back to his room.  
"Alright Tro, I knew you'd understand." Duo replied as he walked outside. In Sally's car he only saw two bags, a pillow, and a plant. He put the bags in the closet, he'd let her deal with them later, he didn't want to go through her things. Then he put the pillow on the couch and the plant on the counter in the kitchen. Duo then heard a door open and turned around to see Sally leaving Wufei's room.  
"Hey Sally, glad to see you got here safe, your stuffs in the hall closet, how's Wuffie doing?" he asked in one breath.   
"Hi, nice to see you too, thanks, and not too good." She answered. Duo gave a short laugh and asked her if she needed anything. After he helped her find a bowl and a cloth he went back to his room to mope about his boyfriend.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre grabbed Trowa's arm. Trowa looked at him, surprised, but didn't make a move to respond. They sat down in the small restaurant and Quatre decided to get it over with and tell him.  
"Trowa?" Trowa looked up at him. "I… I love you, Trowa. I've loved you since I first laid eyes on you. Please… please answer me Trowa. Please talk to me."  
Trowa started at him, his lip slowly raising into a snarl.  
"You freak." Trowa said beginning to stand up. "I can't believe you. Get away from me. I never want to see you again." He slammed his chair under the table and stalked out of the restaurant. Quatre stared after him, his eyes slowly filling with tears.  
"Trowa…" he called softly. "Trowa…"  
Woke up to find  
I lost my mind  
Lost heart, lost nerve  
I lost my favorite word  
Trowa  
I take my cigarettes  
I give 'em a smoke  
Oh god  
My heart feels froze  
I've lost something it seems  
I've misplaced my favorite thing  
Trowa  
Where does love go  
If it can't find a home  
One moment here then gone  
With no forwarding address  
Love no longer has a house  
Or residence in flesh  
Take the keys  
I get in the car  
To out run thus  
Man I'd have to get real far  
Where mercy wears lace  
And bottles are thieves  
Which of these you took from me?  
Trowa  
I face myself  
But there's this draft inside  
Parts of me drowned  
In perpetual tide  
I wanna call names  
I wanna throw things around   
But no bar can buy  
Forgiveness another round for  
Trowa  
I go to the bedroom  
Turn on the light  
It's like an empty altar  
No angel in sight  
Religion with no temple  
No place to take my worship to  
No god for my eyes to see  
No fruit to lay at the feet of  
Trowa (5)  
"Trowa…"  
Quatre sat upright in bed, He had been crying in his sleep. There was a knock on the door.  
"Yes?" Quatre called. He hoped it was just Duo coming to talk or something, because he needed to pull himself together.  
"Quatre?" "Oh God, Oh God, it's Trowa…" Quatre thought, burying himself under the covers.  
"What is it, Trowa?" he asked. Trowa opened the door slightly.  
"Are you OK? I heard you calling my name." He said stepping inside. Quatre turned his head into his pillow to hide the new tear tracks. I must've been dreaming or something.  
"I'm OK. I need to take a shower now, so please…" he said in a muffled voice. Trowa nodded and backed out the door. Quatre sat up and let out a choked sob. He hoped that his dream hadn't been a premonition.  
Trowa stood outside Quatre's door, staring at the floor. He heard movement inside, so he quickly walked into his room and closed the door. He could've sworn he'd heard Quatre call his name, but Quatre said that he hadn't called him. Trowa rethought his short conversation with Quatre. He said that he may've been calling Trowa in a dream. Trowa sat down on his bed. If Quatre'd been calling him in a dream, then… then that would mean that Quatre dreamt about him. He shook his head. Quatre wouldn't dream about him. He must've been hearing things.  
"It won't work!" he said to himself quietly. Quatre was too good for him, too pure. It was only dinner. Quatre would be better off without him. He would be better off alone.  
On my own,  
he sang quietly,   
Pretending he's beside me...  
All alone  
I walk with him till morning  
Without him  
I feel his arms around me  
And when I lose my way i close my eyes  
And he has found me   
In the rain the pavement shines like silver  
All the lights are misty in the river  
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlights  
And all I see is him and me forever and forever   
And i know it`s only in my mind  
That I`m talking to myself and not to him  
And although I know that he is blind  
Still I say, there`s a way for us   
I love him  
But when the night is over  
He`s gone  
The river`s just a river  
Without him  
The world around me changes  
The trees are bare and everywhere  
The streets are full of strangers   
I love him  
But every day I`m learning  
All my life  
I`ve only been pretending  
Without him  
My world would go on turning  
A world that`s full of happiness  
That I have never known   
I love him  
I love him  
I love him  
But only on my own... (6)  
  
Trowa sighed and got up. He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face before walking up to Wufei's room. He knocked lightly and walked in. Wufei was asleep and Sally was sitting beside his bed, humming as she replaced the wet cloth on his head.  
"Will he be alright?" Trowa asked. Sally jumped.  
"Oh! Trowa, I didn't hear you come in. Yes, he should be fine, he just this virus to run through his system." She said. Trowa nodded.  
"Quatre and I will be going out to dinner tonight." He said.  
Sally chuckled quietly.  
"OK, Trowa, thanks for letting me know. I suppose we'll find something to eat." Trowa nodded again and walked out of the room.  
"Have a nice dinner!" she called after him. She straightened one of Wufei's blankets, smiling and shaking her head.   
[Piper]  
Later that afternoon Wufei woke out of his fever induced haze to a woman softly humming and the feeling of a cool wet cloth on his forehead. Sally, his mind supplied him as the owner of the voice. She sang before then kissed me, no, wait, I'm just imagining things.  
"Onna." He called softly.  
"Wufei." She answered back, just as quietly. He opened his heavy eyelids to see her standing over him, her hand gently running down the side of his face.  
"Are you feeling any better?" Sally asked.  
"No. My body is cold but my face is not, it feels weird."  
"Don't worry, once the fever breaks you'll feel much better. I heard you vomited earlier. You need food and liquids to get better. I've been giving you teas while you were asleep, but do you think you could eat soup? It'll just be us and Duo for dinner and that seemed simplest."  
"Fine. Where are…" he started.  
"The other two are going to dinner in town. Quatre's been moping lately and he asked Trowa to go out with him. And no, I don't know what's going on." She smiled slightly. Wufei gave a slight laugh then watched as Sally got a thermos off the table and poured the liquid into a cup. She made a motion and he opened his mouth as she poured the healing tea, keeping her hand on his jaw the whole time. He realized the feeling of her hands on him as she replaced the cloth on his forehead and soothed down the loose strands of his hair. He pondered for a moment when that happened then his mind supplied that she's done it. He knew he'd have to thank whoever called her. He felt her hands still on his face then they lifted his blankets and he felt the cold stethoscope against his chest. he shivered a bit at the sudden cold on his already cool skin.  
"My poor dragon" he heard her whisper as she kissed his cheek. "Sweet little Wufei, why can't I like you, not those jerks I always do."  
He felt himself being covered back up and somewhere he realized that she thought he was asleep. 'Silly onna.' He thought to himself as sleep pulled at him. "Why can't she like me?"  
(1)Ani DiFranco, "Rush Hour"   
(2)Poe, "Hello"   
(3) Tori Amos, "January Girl"  
(4)Natalie Merchant, "Life is Sweet"   
(5) Jewel, "Emily"   
(6) Les Miserables, "On My Own" 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
[Cameron]  
Quatre poked his head out of his door. He saw Trowa slipping into his room, so he ran out of his room and into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and let the bathroom fill with steam. As he slipped out of his clothes he began humming, then singing.  
All the fear has left me now  
I'm not frightened anymore  
It's my heart that pounds beneath my flesh  
It's my mouth that pushed out this breath and if I shed a tear I won't cage it  
I won't fear love and if I feel a rage I won't deny it  
I won't fear love  
Companion to our demons they will dance and we will play  
With chairs, candles and clothes making darkness in the day  
It will be easy to look in or out upstream or down without a thought and if I shed a tear I won't cage it  
I won't fear love and if I feel a rage I won't deny it   
I won't fear love  
Peace in the struggle to find peace  
Comfort on the way to comfort and if I shed a tear I won't cage it  
I won't fear love and if I feel a rage I won't deny it  
I won't fear love  
I won't fear love  
I won't fear love (1)  
Trowa walked out of his room and headed towards the bathroom. He found the door closed and he figured it was just Duo brushing his hair again, so he waited outside. A moment later the door opened and steam rolled out into the hallway. Trowa turned to go in and almost ran into an angel. Or, rather, what looked like an angel. Quatre's pale hair was sticking out at odd angles, looking rather like a halo. His deep blue eyes were framed with eyelashes sparkling with drops of water. His cheeks were slightly red from the warm shower. This, and all he was wearing a towel. Both boys blushed and Trowa averted his eyes.  
"Excuse me." Quatre mumbled and all but ran to his room. Trowa entered the bathroom and closed the door, still blushing. When he got out of the shower he realized that he had no idea what kind of restaurant they were going to and what he should wear. On the way to his room he knocked on Quatre's door to ask him about it. He heard shuffling inside and Quatre opened the door wearing only a pair of jeans.   
"Yes, Trowa?" he asked, leaning against the doorjamb.  
"I just wanted to know what I should wear tonight."  
"Oh, anything casual's fine."  
"Oh. Thank you."  
"No problem." The door closed and Trowa walked to his room, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.  
[Piper]  
"Duo, you in there?" the female voice accompanied the loud knocking on the door.  
He looked with loathing at the door as he slowly made his way to the door.  
"Year, I'm here. What is it Sally?" he asked as he opened his door.  
"I need your help in the kitchen. It's just me, you, and Wufei tonight, Quatre and Trowa are going out to dinner."  
"Wait, why is it just them, is it a date or something?"  
"Who knows. I'm thinking of making soup and I thought you might be bored. Wanna help?"  
"Sure," Duo replied and the two went down to the kitchen.   
"Now let's see what we have," Sally mumbled to herself as she looked through the shelves.  
"Not much, huh? Usually Kat goes shopping after a mission, but he hasn't been feeling well and no one else ever goes. Lazy."  
Sally nodded at Duo and they continued to search. Eventually they found noodles, chicken broth, and chicken. They began making the soup, with Duo trying to add things when Sally wasn't looking.  
"Nimnu ryokai," Heero mumbled to himself as Wing left the now destroyed base for the safe house and his braided lover.  
"Duo, why haven't you answered me, are you still mad," Heero looked around the cockpit and set his gundam on autopilot. Then he noticed the amount of blood and bruises on him.  
"I'll deal with it later," he thought as the world turned black and he fell into a dreamless sleep.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre walked out of his room dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black silk shirt. He glanced at Trowa's door and saw that it was closed. He leaned against the wall. His heart was already beating fast just thinking about telling Trowa. He just wasn't sure if tonight was the right time. He jumped as Trowa's door opened. Trowa walked out wearing khakis and a deep green polo shirt that made his eyes stand out. He stood outside his room and stared at Quatre.  
"Should we leave now?" he asked after a moment. Quatre shrugged.  
"Our reservation isn't for another hour. We have a few more minutes before we need to leave." Trowa nodded.  
"Then I'll be in my room. Come and get me when we need to leave." Quatre nodded and he went back into his room. Quatre stared at the closed door, then walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Maybe speaking with Sally would help him calm down.   
[Piper]  
The only problem with that was that Sally herself wasn't calm.  
"Duo! What the hell is that?" Sally asked the braided pilot.  
"I don't know, but it smells good," he answered back as he added some more. something to the pot.  
Sally sighed and tasted the soup. `Hey, not bad,' she thought to herself. A slight cough brought her away from the pot to the figure in the doorway.  
"Hi Quatre. You look nice," Sally said as Duo whistled at the blonde.  
"Um, thanks. What are you two making?" he asked.  
"Some soupie for Wuffie." Duo answered.  
"And ourselves." Sally added.  
"Oh, sounds good. Well, we're getting ready to leave so I guess, um, I'll see you guys later. Oh, and could one of you check if I get a message, I feel like a mission should be coming soon."  
"Sure. Have fun." Sally said while Duo waved as he ate some soup. `I really hope they have fun,' Sally thought.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre smiled slightly as he looked over into the driver's seat. Trowa had insisted on driving despite the fact that he had no idea where the restaurant they were going to was.  
"Turn here." Quatre said motioning towards the road. They reached the small Italian restaurant quickly and were given a secluded table by a window. Trowa looked around as they sat.  
"How did we get in so fast? He asked. "There were others waiting in line."  
Quatre waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I'm a friend of the owner. I adore this table because of the view." He motioned towards the window, which overlooked a river and the sun just beginning to set. Trowa admired the view for a moment before turning back to Quatre and their untouched menus.  
"Do you recommend anything?" he asked quietly.  
Quatre nodded. "I always get the lasagna. You can have anything you want. Remember, cost is no object, so knock yourself out."  
"I'll just have the lasagna too." Trowa said. Quatre nodded and ordered for them when the waiter came. They got glasses of water and Quatre played with his ice in the uncomfortable silence that followed.  
"So." he said after a moment, "When do you think Heero will get back home?"  
Trowa shrugged. "I don't know. Probably pretty soon, he's been gone for a while." Then after a pause he added, "Duo will be happy when he does."  
Quatre got a far away look. "Yeah. it'll be nice to have our hyper Duo back again. It's so sad to see him depressed."  
Trowa nodded and looked out the window. "Yes, but Heero's just going to leave again. It'll be a never ending cycle."  
Quatre sighed. "I know, but Duo loves him and he'll follow after Heero until he's dead or Heero's broken his heart. Sometimes I wonder if his live is even worth it. He's going to be broken beyond repair unless Heero becomes able to express his love."  
Trowa turned his head to Quatre. "I've often wondered about the validity of better to have loved and lost, but I've decided that love is a sacred thing and is worth whatever happens."  
Quatre looked back at him. "Maybe so, but hardly anything is worth having your heart broken."  
Trowa leaned forward. "Some things are."  
Quatre blushed and looked down at the table. The waiter came with their food and they ate in silence.   
"This is good lasagna." Trowa said after a while.  
"Do you think whores just don't care about love?" Quatre blurted out. When he realized what he said he blushed deep red. Trowa chuckled quietly.  
"Where did that question come from?" he asked.  
Quatre looked down. "I was just wondering what kind of reasons you would have for becoming a whore. Maybe they're starved for money. or maybe they're starved for love."  
"Or maybe they just really like sex." Trowa said smiling slightly. Quatre looked at him in surprise. Trowa's face softened and he spoke in a lower voice. "I think most of them just don't know what love is. They think that what they have is the best they can get."  
"But how could you ever tell them what love is? What could you say?"  
An amused smirk touched Trowa's lips.  
Love is a many splendered thing.   
He sang.   
Love lifts us up where we belong.   
All you need is love  
Quatre smiled and blinked his eyes very fast and pretended he was chewing gum, making a very convincing whore.   
Please, don't start that again.   
He said in a bored voice.  
All you need is love. Trowa sang.  
A girl has got to eat. Quatre said taking a bite of his lasagna.  
All you need is love. Trowa sang again.  
She'll end up on the streets. Quatre said, looked confused, then smiled.  
All you need is love. Trowa sang laughing slightly.  
Love is just a game. Quatre sang quietly.  
I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me. Trowa sang, wiggling his eyebrows.  
Quatre shook his finger at him. The only way of loving me baby is to pay a lovely fee  
Just one night, jut one night.Trowa sang looking overly emotional.  
There's no way `cause you can't pay. Quatre said turning his head in fake indignity.  
In the name of love, one night in the name of love. Trowa said.  
Quatre turned his head and smiled. You crazy fool, I won't give in to you  
Trowa suddenly turned serious. Don't leave me this way. O can't survive without your sweet love, oh baby, don't leave me this way  
Quatre's smile faded. You'd think that people would've had enough of silly love songs  
Trowa locked eyes with him. I look around me and I see it isn't so. oh no  
Quatre met his gaze. Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs  
Well what's wrong with that, I'd like to know, `cause here I go   
Trowa pushed away from his chair and stood up.  
Love lifts us up where we belong, where eagles fly on a mountain high  
Quatre smiled again.  
Love makes us act like we are fools, throw our lives away for one happy day  
We could be heroes! Trowa sang loudly.   
Just for one day  
Quatre looked down at the table and sang quietly. You-you will be mean  
Trowa laughed. No, no I won't!  
Quatre didn't look up. And I, I'll drink all the time!  
Trowa extended his hand towards Quatre and loudly sang, We should be lovers!  
Quatre looked up at him. We can't do that  
Trowa stayed in his position. We should be lovers, and that's a fact He sang.  
Quatre stood up and touched his hand. Though nothing could keep us together.  
Trowa grasped his hand and began to sing with him. We could steal time just for one day. We could be heroes, forever and ever, we could be heroes.  
Trowa put his other hand on Quatre's mouth, quieting him.   
Just because I will always love you, I  
Quatre pulled down his hand and sang with him.  
Can't help loving  
Quatre stopped singing and Trowa sang  
you   
by himself.   
How wonderful life is,  
Quatre sang, pulling Trowa close to him.  
Now  
Trowa joined him,  
You're in the world. (2)  
As they finished singing Trowa leaned Quatre back and kissed him deeply. Quatre eagerly kissed him back and when they finally moved away from each other, both boys blushed and sat back in their seats in an awkward silence that would last the rest of the night.  
[Piper]  
Wufei, for one, would've loved silence. He'd first woken up to Sally asking if he was hungry and if he thought he could eat. He was and could and looked forward to a quiet meal with her. She'd left the room and returned with two bowls of soup and Duo with three spoons and a bowl of his own, thus his current predicament.   
"Here, Wufei," Sally said as she fed him soup. She sat on the bed beside him alternating between feeding him and herself. He was too weak and besides, it's not like he minded being babied by her.  
"Don't worry, Wu-man," Duo piped up, "We all get sick sometime." Wufei had to surpress the evil thoughts he had towards his braided comrade.  
"Shh, Duo, have you heard from Heero?" Sally asked, changing the subject.  
"No. I don't know why he hasn't called cause I've stayed off the computer in case he did and still nothing. I don't know what's wrong with him, do you think he's till mad. I hope not," Duo replied bitterly.  
"Baka," Wufei said weakly. "You're forgetting Yuy's favorite pastime, aside from you."  
At this, Duo had the modesty to blush, but his face showed confusion. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.  
"His laptop," Sally said gently.  
Duo's face went through an array of emotions till it almost got stuck on shock as he very ungracefully leapt from his seat and ran out of the room.   
"I never knew a person's face could do that," Sally said with a hint of laughter as Wufei nodded. "It looks like we're done with supper. Do you need anything else before I go, like an extra blanket?"  
"Yes," Wufei weakly answered as Sally cleaned up their meal. She went and got another blanket and tucked the Chinese boy in for the night.  
"Good night, Wufei," She said leaving the room, not bothering to close the door.  
"I wish she had stayed, but she'd never do that, she has a boyfriend," He thought, continuing these self-destructive thoughts until he heard singing.  
I looked into your eyes they told me plenty I already knew  
You never felt a thing so soon forgotten all that you do  
In more than words I tried to tell you   
The more I tried I failed  
I would not let myself believe that you might stray  
And I would stand by you no matter what they'd say  
I thought I'd be with you until my dying day  
Until my dying day  
I used to think my life was often empty  
A lonely space to fill  
You made my world stand still  
And in that stillness there was a freedom I never felt before  
I would not let myself believe that you might stray  
And I would stand by you no matter what they'd say  
I thought I'd be with you until my dying day  
Until my dying day. (3)  
"I wonder what she was singing about," He thought to himself.  
Sally, meanwhile, had decided to drop her depression and cleaned the dishes from dinner; afterwards she checked Quatre's email.  
"Hmm, a mission for 03 and 04 tomorrow morning. I hope they get back soon," She said quietly to herself. As if a sign, at that moment the aforementioned pilots came in.  
"Trowa, Quatre, hi," Sally said, smiling at the two pilots. "How was dinner?"  
"It was nice, thank for asking," Quatre replied as Trowa gave her a half smile and continued to his room.  
"Wait," Sally called. "A mission came in for you two, tomorrow morning."  
"Oh, okay, well we better get to sleep then. Thanks for telling us," Quatre answered.  
"Good-night," Sally smiled.  
"Good night, Sally," Quatre said as Trowa nodded. The pilots went to their rooms, leaving Sally alone with her thoughts.  
"I wonder what happened at dinner;" She thought to herself as she heard a low whimper from Wufei's room. She briskly walked to his room, wondering what the noise was.  
"Wufei," She cautiously called into his room.  
"Sally," he answered back. Now she knew something was wrong. She walked to the head of the bed and lay her hand on his forehead. He was shivering, but still burning up.  
"What's wrong?" She asked.  
"I'm so cold," He chattered.  
"Shh, I'll look for more blankets."  
"No, I don't want to be alone," He meekly called. "Please stay."  
Sally's eyes got large at the shock of hearing and seeing Wufei so childlike.  
"It's alright, I'll stay."  
His only response was to move over in the bed.  
"You want me to sleep here?" Sally asked, astonished.  
"You're warm," He answered simply.  
She shrugged her shoulders at that and climbed in next to him. He immediately latched onto her and pretty soon she could hear gentle snores coming from him.  
"What have I gotten myself into," She thought to herself as she joined him in sleep.  
  
(1)Sarah McLachlan, "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"  
(2) "Elephant Love Melody", from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack  
(3)Sarah McLachlan, "Plenty" 


	4. Chapter 4

Out of the Shadows Chapter 4  
[Cameron]  
Quatre stumbled out of his room the next morning at 4:30. Trowa was already in the kitchen, eating toast and reading over the mission again, looking as awake as ever. Quatre sighed and set about making himself coffee and a muffin.   
"Good morning." Trowa said without looking up.  
"Good morning." Quatre mumbled back, sitting down at the table with his breakfast. He leaned over and read the mission from over Trowa's shoulder. "So all we have to do is infiltrate the base, steal the disks from the main control room, and destroy the base, right?" Quatre asked. "Doesn't sound too difficult."  
"It's the infiltration that's the problem. The base's leader is a very paranoid man and he doesn't let anyone in without an extensive background check. What we will have to do is dispatch two employees, a soldier and a janitor, and take their place." Trowa said, finishing his toast and setting the mission printout between Quatre and him.   
"Why a soldier and a janitor?" Quatre asked, moving his chair so he could see the sheet better.   
"A soldier for the anonymity and a janitor for access to the control room." Trowa said. "Now, you're the tactical genius. Can you find us a way to do this?"  
Quatre smiled briefly at Trowa and nodded. He slid the map of the base onto the table. "If we go in here and here we can stop the janitor and soldier without anyone knowing. We can park our gundams in the forest near the base. We should be able to get in and out of the control room tonight, get our gundams, launch a few missiles and leave. In and out in one day."  
Trowa stood up. "Are you ready?"  
Quatre nodded and popped the last bit of muffin in his mouth. He stood up and he and Trowa walked to the hanger in a companionable silence.   
[Piper]  
Later on (at a much more reasonable hour) Sally woke up feeling really, really warm. She opened her eyes through a sleepy haze and looked at her surroundings. She was in a bed in a very Spartan room. Still half asleep she tried to get up only to find herself held down. Looking to her side she saw pilot 05, still asleep and drooling slightly. Suddenly she remembered the night before and the fact that she was now living with the pilots.   
"Wufei's not going to be happy to see me here," she though. "He's probably embarrassed he showed any weakness."  
To help Wufei keep his pride, she decided to leave before he woke up. She gently lifted his arm and slid out, then carefully put an extra pillow where she had been and placed his arm back. Sally then walked out of the room as stealthily as possible. As she reached the door she thought she heard her name. She turned around to see Wufei still dozing. She shook her head and left the room.  
"It's gonna be a long day." She said as she quietly closed the door behind her.  
Duo had been nervous for hours. He sat in the kitchen with his coffee and a piece of burnt toast.   
"Stupid toaster," he mumbled to himself. He'd been restless since he left Wufei's room the night before. Sally and Wufei were right, he did have a note from Heero. It'd said,  
02,  
Are you out there?  
I can't see your face  
I lost my way home  
I'm cut off from our mainline  
Word has it on the wire  
That you don't know who you are   
Well if you could jack into my brain  
You'd know exactly what you mean here.  
How do I reach you? (1)  
01  
It was no fancy love note, but Duo knew it was the best Heero could do, especially on a mission.  
"Of course, life is a mission to him," Duo said aloud. "But I hope he forgives me and alright. All I can do is wait."  
We're just a wish away   
27th letter  
much maligned  
beat me clever  
say you will  
nevermind  
open up  
open wide  
bonedriven  
see we're taking all the life  
to all pollutants  
share your face  
we're all confusion  
we're all the rage  
maybe I can't erase  
all that's left  
inside out  
heaven knows who walks away  
heaven knows who walks  
bonedriven  
bonedriven  
I was wrong and I will wait  
I was wrong and I will I will wait  
a thousand lamps   
won't lift the dark  
rest of our lives  
might have already passed (2)  
"What did you do wrong?" Sally asked, walking into the room, startling Duo.   
"Wha, wha, um, me and Heero had a fight before he left," Duo answered, trying to get his heart calmed down.  
"Oh Duo. I'm sure you two will make up. Don't worry," Sally said sympathetically as she poured herself some coffee.  
"I hope. Have a good time after I left?" Duo asked with a knowing smirk.  
"What are you talking about?" Sally said innocently.  
"Nothin, it's just that I saw you asleep in Wufei's bed."  
"He was cold."  
"Uh-huh, and he wanted something hot, huh?"  
"Duo! Nothing happened."  
"Yeah, whatever. That's what me and Heero said at first but then…"  
Duo said, but was cut off when a loud boom was heard.  
"What the?" Sally asked, running to the front door with Duo right behind her. They looked outside to see Wing on the front lawn.  
"Heero!" Duo yelled, scaling the side of the gundam to get to the cockpit. He heard Sally call up to him, but ignored it in his haste to get to his lover. Inside he found the Japanese pilot slumped over with blood all over the cockpit.  
"Oh Hee-chan," Duo whimpered. He carefully unhooked his partner and yelled to Sally that Heero was unconscious. He slowly lowered the two of them down to Wufei, who was waiting at Wing's foot.  
"What happened to Yuy?" Wufei asked.  
"I don't know. Where's Sally?"  
"In your room, fixing the bed for him. Need help?"  
Duo nodded and the two pilots took their comrade into the house.   
"Lay him down. Duo, go get me a bowl filled with water from the kitchen. Wufei, get me my bag. It should still be in your room." Sally commanded as she looked Heero over.  
"Please be okay," Duo said quietly as he went to the kitchen.  
[Cameron]  
"Alright, the important thing is that we don't show that we recognize each other or know each other in any way." Trowa said, pulling the last of the soldier's uniform on. "This could get the attention of an authority and if we have to show our picture ids they'll know right off that we're not them."  
Quatre nodded. "Okay. Then I'll meet you in the hallway right off the control room at 1:00. I'll give you the key and head for my gundam. You get in, get the disks and meet me at 1:15 at the edge of the forest in your gundam. We'll destroy the base and head home. Good luck, Trowa."  
"Likewise." Trowa said and ran down the hall. Quatre looked after him a moment before taking the janitor's cart and walking down the hall.  
At 1:00 on the dot that night Quatre stood against the hallway wall, apparently mopping the floor. He heard a sound from outside the hallway and looked up, expecting to see Trowa. Indeed, it was Trowa, but three other soldiers surrounded him. Quatre quickly turned his back and hunched his shoulders and continued to mop. The soldiers passed by him, not noticing. When they had passed, Quatre turned back around and watched them as they walked away. Suddenly one turned and pinned Trowa to the wall, grinning.  
"Hey pretty boy, if you don't scream I won't tell the boss you're a fake." He said. Quatre cringed. Trowa'd been found out. He pushed back further against the wall as the soldier began to speak again.  
"Well, fag, you'll enjoy this," he said. The other two soldiers laughed and held Trowa's arms to the wall. Trowa had a neutral expression, staring at the wall across from him. The soldier not holding his arms back leaned forward and kissed Trowa roughly. Quatre's eyes widened. Those same lips that had kissed him so gently- those same lips…  
As the soldier reached for the button on his pants Quatre heard Trowa's name escaping from his lips. As the soldiers and Trowa turned he stepped out of the shadows, gun drawn.   
"Let him go." He said in a low voice, his eyes narrowing. As the two soldiers Quatre could see raised their hands, the soldier that was partially blocked from his view by Trowa raised his gun and shot. The bullet entered Quatre through his shoulder and went straight through, embedding itself in the wall behind it. Quatre gasped and was thrown backwards onto the floor. He quickly got back up, clutching his shoulder, but it was too late. One soldier jumped him and pushed him too the wall. He handcuffed him and led him down the hall. Trowa looked after him and allowed himself to be handcuffed and led in the opposite direction.  
[Piper]  
Wufei couldn't believe he'd given into his impulses the night before. "She probably thinks I'm a weakling," he thought to himself. He was currently watching over Heero while Duo kept on babbling to his lover. No one had questioned him when he came to help. He hoped that Sally would forget about his behavior.   
"Wufei?" Duo timidly asked, breaking Wufei's train of though.   
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked sharply, taking out his frustrations on the currently distraught braided pilot.  
"Um, do you think Heero will be okay?"  
"Yeah, Maxwell. He is the perfect soldier, remember?" Wufei said, to which Duo nodded his head.  
"Don't worry Duo, Heero's strong," Sally said walking into the room. "Why don't you go put Wing in the hanger. I don't trust Wufei to do it and I know Heero would rather you go in his gundam anyway."  
Duo gav her a look that said he didn't believe her, bit he slowly got up and put a chaste kiss on Heero's brow.   
"I think you just want to be alone with Wufei." Duo said saucily.   
"Like I'd try anything with Heero in here. But I do need to check Wufei over to see if his virus is gone."  
"Uh-huh, all over. I'll be outside," Duo called as he laughingly left. Wufei stood like a statue in the corner, giving Sally a look as she went to Heero's side.  
"Oh, come off it Wufei. It's not like I could check on Heero with Duo hovering like he was. Now strip!"  
Wufei's eyes went wide as Sally said this and he choked on the words he wanted to say.   
"I'm kidding. Man, are you gullible. Look, do you feel sick or anything?"  
"No onna. I'm not a weakling."  
"Yeah, yeah." Sally grumbled as she began to check him over. "Seems like you're fine now. Must've been a 24-hour bug. Now you're back to the justice freak we all know and love."  
"I'll have you know onna-"  
"Yeah, yeah, I know everything, remember. Now leave me to my work. Shoo, shoo, I need to check over Heero and I'm sure he'd rather you not be around if I remove clothing. But if you want to stay…"  
"Shut up onna, I'm leaving."  
"Bye-bye Wufei," she sing-songed as he slammed the door.  
"Stupid onna," he grumbled to himself as he went outside. He went to the hanger and found Duo singing as he was repairing Wing.  
When all the stars were falling,   
I reached up like you said.  
All the stars were falling, one hit me in the head,  
And I fell down, down down.  
I fell down, down.  
When all the stars were falling,  
They fell from above  
And I thought of hate, and I thought of hate,   
And then I thought of love.  
And I fell down, down down.  
I fell down, down.  
And I've learned to dance from a Vincent Van Gogh,  
And the nights were wrapped in a white sheet,  
And now no one even says hello,  
'Cause I couldn't stand on my two feet.  
I fell down.  
I fell down.  
Now the peace you'll find, in your own you have found,  
The lights of the city are the stars on the ground.  
"I may not be a quaalude living in a speed zone,"  
but I could be restful, I could be someone's home,  
if I fell down,  
and I fell down, down.  
Now all the stars have fallen. (3)  
"Maxwell," Wufei called, startling his companion.  
"Yeah, Wu-Wu?"  
"Need help?"  
"Sure. Just don't talk too much."  
[Cameron]  
Quatre woke by himself in a tiny white room. Apparently they'd thought he'd lose enough blood to keep him knocked out, so they just dumped him in a closet.  
"Stupid," Quatre murmured, standing up. He was still handcuffed, but he managed to get to the door, which was, suprisingly, unlocked. He estimated that it was   
about 2 o'clock in the morning and wasn't surprised when there was no one in the hallway. He looked around him, mentally calling up the floor plan of the base. The control room, he realized, was actually only a hallway over from where he was. As he walked closer he began to hear voices. He reached the control room and realized that the voices were coming from the room next to it. He leaned closer to listen.   
"Who are you? Why are you here? I'm not going to ask you again!" There was a moment of silence, then the sound of something bearing flesh. Quatre shuddered. Trowa was in that room, he had to be. Quatre stepped back and stared at the control room and the room where Trowa was. He had to get those disks or the whole of the colonies could be in danger. But yet, in the time it would take to get them, Trowa could be killed. The disks could save hundreds, even thousands of lives. Trowa could lose his. With a small cry Quatre ran towards the control room. He found the disks and in the process the key to his handcuffs. Thanking whatever deity he could think of, Quatre shoved the disks into his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs. Gun drawn with his good arm, he rushed into the other room. Time seemed to slow to a standstill. There were three men from the base there- two screaming questions and one simply beating Trowa at every silent response. And there Trowa lay, so still it was hard to tell he was still alive. There was so much blood that it was difficult to define all of his injuries. His eyes were still open, even in his unconscious state. Emerald green, staring straight ahead to the gray ceiling. Time jolted back into normal rhythm and Quatre raised his gun, shooting all three men dead. He was not fast enough, however, and an alarm began going off as he took Trowa into his arms as gently as possible and ran to the nearest exit. As he ran soldiers burst out of their rooms, firing at Quatre. A shot grazed off his calf as he jumped out of the exit door and onto the steep hill that led to the forest their gundams were hidden in. The soldiers were following him, still firing, but he had no way of defending himself with Trowa still in his arms. He finally reached their gundams and he made Trowa as comfortable as possible in the back of Sandrock before going to set the autopilot on Heavyarms.  
Trowa blinked as his mind slowly blurred back into consciousness. He found himself inside Sandrock. Quatre was not there. He wanted to call out to him, but found that his voice would not cooperate with him. In fact, no part of his body would respond. He looked around, searching for any sign of where Quatre could be. He looked forward into the forest. Suppose they had captured Quatre… but then, how would he be in Sandrock? Then, all of a sudden there he was, pulling himself up into the seat with one arm. The other arm's shoulder was soaked in blood and Trowa also noticed blood dripping off Quatre's leg. He wanted to reach out, to take Quatre and heal him. But he could not move.  
"I'm so sorry, Trowa. So sorry," he heard Quatre say as the hatch closed. It was then that he realized that Quatre was crying very hard. Because of him?  
"Quatre! Quatre! It's okay! I'm fine!" he screamed in his head, but no sound came out. The gundam took off and he could hear Heavyarms taking off beside them. Quatre launched the largest missiles he had towards the base and headed towards the safe house.   
"Trowa-" Quatre choked, leaning his head forward onto the controls.  
If I should choose to live in my cocoon  
Wrap myself in me and cry myself to sleep  
If I should choose to protect my tender heart   
Build a shell from you steal myself  
From you  
If I should choose to fall apart  
Don't you think you should let me if I should  
Choose to die alone  
You should forgive and forget me  
If I decide I can't do it anymore  
Try to be so hard I'm trying to be so fucking hard  
If I should choose to keep lying to myself  
Pretend my mind is telling truths  
Well I've got my own so who are you  
I know (4)  
Trowa felt like crying inside. But he could not move.  
[Piper]  
Heero woke up and began to mentally access his injuries.  
"Broken ribs, concussion, small lacerations… wait, I seem to already be wrapped up. Could I be at the safehouse? He asked himself as he slowly opened his eyes to see his braided lover asleep beside him.  
"You awake, Heero?" he heard a soft female voice ask and he looked up to see Sally in the corner watching him.  
"Yes. What happened to Duo?"  
"He's worn out. He wouldn't leave your side till I almost forced him."   
"Hn." Heero replied as his hand unconsciously gripped Duo's hand, which held his own tightly. This movement woke to braided pilot.   
"Hee-chan?" Duo questioned as he blinked open his eyes like a kitten.  
"Hn," Heero replied, looking into his partner's violet orbs.  
"I think I'll go find Wufei," Sally said as she backed out of the room and gently shut the door. Duo and Heero never lost eye contact.   
"Oh Heero! I'm so sorry! Forgive me. I missed you so much and I didn't find your message till last night and I was so worried that something had happened. I don't care if you have missions but please don't leave me. I love you so much, Hee-chan!" Duo exclaimed with more feeling as he went until eventually he was sobbing on Heero's chest.  
"Shh baby, it's okay," Heero crooned as best he could as he stroked Duo's hair and rubbed circles on his back.   
"I hate it when we fight, but I hate it even more when you leave," Duo choked out.  
"I'm no good with words Duo, you know that. And you're the most important thing in my life."  
"Really? Duo asked as he tried to blink away his tears.  
"Of course." Heero replied as he thumbed away his lover's tears and started to sing softly.  
Finally I figured out, but it took a long long time  
And now there's a turnabout, Maybe cause I'm trying  
There's been times, I'm so confused  
All my roads, They lead to you  
I just can't turn, And walk away...   
It's hard to say, What it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always, Be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove, It's all for you   
I thought I'd seen it all, 'Cause it's been a long long time  
But then we'll trip and fall, Wondering if I'm blind   
There's been times, I'm so confused  
All my roads, They lead to you  
I just can't turn, And walk away...   
It's hard to say, What it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always, Be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove, It's all for you   
Rain comes pouring down (Pouring down)  
Falling from blue skies (Falling from blue skies)  
Words without a sound, Coming from your eyes   
It's hard to say, What it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always, Be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove, It's all for you (4)  
When Heero finished singing he snuggled up with his lover and the two fell asleep. They slept better than they had in days.   
(1)Poe, "Hello"  
(2)Bush, "Bonedriven"  
(3)"When All the Stars Were Falling" by Lisa Loeb  
(4)"Cocoon" by Joydrop  
(5)"All For You" by Sister Hazel 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
[Piper]  
"Heero up?" Wufei asked a startled Sally as he walked into the den.   
"Yeah. I decided to leave him and Duo to get reacquainted," she answered. She was currently putting her clothes away in the closet. Wufei nodded as he continued into the kitchen.  
"Wait, Sally," he called.  
"Yeah, what is it?"  
"Why are you unpacking your clothes?"  
"Cause I'm…" Sally was interrupted by a ground shaking boom.   
"What the," Wufei yelled as Duo and Heero ran into the room.   
"Heero! Get back in bed, ahh," Sally yelled as the ground shook again and she fell onto Wufei.   
"I guess Quatre and Trowa are back," Duo said as he pushed his lover back towards their bedroom.   
"Oh, sorry Wufei," Sally apologized as she got off the red-faced Chinese pilot.  
"Onna," he mumbled as he got up and went outside, yelling over his shoulder, "I'll see what their injuries are!"  
"I'll go help Wufei," Duo called as he too ran out the door. Heero and Sally shared a look.  
"If you wanna help, get my bag out of your room and put it in Quatre's room."  
Heero obeyed her commands as they heard yelling outside.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre slid in and out of consciousness, but was jerked awake when his gundam slammed into the ground. He could hear voices outside and soon someone was banging on the hatch. He wanted to stay, to simply fall back on his seat and sleep, but he knew that Trowa was behind him and had to be taken care of, so he hit the button and let his hand slide down the panel. Duo's face appeared in front of him.   
"Holy-" Duo yelled. "What happened? Quatre? Trowa?!!" Duo reached in. "Quatre, can you get out?"  
"Leave me, Duo." Quatre mumbled. "Take Trowa. Leave me."  
"Woah there, buddy, come on now, we've got to get both of you out." Duo said, smiling a little. He reached in and took Quatre out, handing him to Wufei, who was standing behind him. Then Duo reached in and gingerly took out Trowa. On the ground he looked towards Wufei.  
"Injuries?" he asked.  
"Bullet hole in his shoulder, pretty deep cut in his calf, loads of blood loss… you?"  
"I can't even tell… um, I'm thinking broken and bruised ribs, a broken arm, possibly a fractured knee, other stuff too. Sally ready?"  
"Yeah." Wufei said. "I can take the mobile suits to the hanger after they're settled." Duo nodded and followed Wufei inside.   
Quatre slitted his eyes open. He was moving.  
"We won't leave you, Quatre." He said quietly. "You'll be fine."  
"No…" but Quatre had slipped back into a blissfully dark state.  
[Piper]  
Sally couldn't believe the injuries Quatre and Trowa had sustained. Sure she'd been a surgeon for the federation and was working as a doctor for the guerrillas now bit to come back from simple infiltrations looking like that.  
"Do you guys always get this messed up?" Sally asked Wufei and Heero.  
"Sometimes we're worse," Wufei crossly said as he handed her a bandage.  
"What kind of people are y'all? You always come back unconscious and crash your gundams, which can't help you out either, and then you have Heero set your bones and we all know how gentle he is, no offense," Sally ranted, pausing to breathe.  
"Hn," Heero replied as he set Trowa's arm with a loud crack.   
"Onna, you sound like Maxwell," Wufei snickered.  
"Shut up Chang," she shouted back.   
"That does too," Heero added, setting Trowa's knee with another crack.  
"Idiots, all of you, I'm going to check up on Quatre. And Heero, go to bed!" Sally yelled with a mother like tone as she gracefully left the room to Wufei's applause.  
Sally mumbled under her breath about justice freaks as she walked into Quatre's room. She was greeted by a view of Duo wrapping Quatre's leg.  
"So, how is he?" She asked the 02 pilot.   
"Ask him yourself. Hey Kat, Sally's here," Duo said, gently shaking Quatre.  
"Huh, Sal-Sally," Quatre weakly breathed.  
"Yeah Quatre, it's me. You alright?" She asked the pale pilot. Her only response was a groan as Duo began wrapping his shoulder.  
"Just was I thought," She said with a slight laugh.  
"Eh, Quatre's stronger than he looks," Duo put in as Sally began checking the Arabian over.  
"Tro- Trowa?" Quatre asked in a whisper.  
"Shh, he's fine, don't worry yourself. You just need to get better. Oh, did I ever tell you about this one time?" Duo said reassuringly.  
Sally tuned the braided boy out as he began yet another pointless story. She knew Quatre was worse than he looked but he seemed stable for the time being.  
[Cameron]  
Trowa felt himself drifting back into consciousness and he heard quiet conversation near him.  
"The mobile suits had little damage. I think most of it was probably from landing."  
"How did they get this bad?"  
"I don't- hey, is he moving?"  
Trowa was moving his lips, trying to speak. He felt someone touching his arm. He opened his eyes slightly. It was Wufei and Heero, both looking down at him.  
"Qua-Quatre?" he whispered, his eyes squinting shut from the effort. Heero and Wufei looked at each other, then back down at Trowa.  
"He's fine, Trowa. He lost a lot of blood but he'll be fine." He heard Wufei say. Trowa let himself slip back into relaxation, appearing to be asleep. They hadn't understood him. Quatre had seemed so sad when they left the base. It was as if he didn't care about himself at all, or he was so angry at himself that he couldn't even feel his own injuries. For once he wished Duo was in the room. Maybe then he could make him understand. For now, though, he was too tired to open his eyes again, let alone explain things to anyone.  
[Piper]  
Heero was worried. It'd been a day since the other two pilots had returned and Trowa had had fleeting moments of consciousness and Quatre was still weak. Sally was working nonstop with Wufei helping her and Duo; well his lover was not himself. Sure, he seemed happy and was still the jokester but Heero knew better. He was currently checking for missions and waiting for Duo's return. He turned at the sound of the door opening and a familiar voice.  
"Don't worry about it Sal. I don't mind late night shift, but make sure to come get me when you get tired, don't want to lose our best doctor do we now. Never mind that you're our only doctor. Good night Sally," The braided pilot said as he stood in the doorway.  
"Good night Duo," Sally called as she went into another room. Heero turned to face his lover and for a split second as he turned he saw a flash of pain in the violet eyes before it was carefully masked.   
"Hey Hee-chan!" Duo said cheerfully." I'm gonna hit the hay, so don't stay on too late, you know how I sleep better with my He-bear then without." Duo grinned at his partner, but was met with anger.  
"What do you think you're doing!" Heero yelled.  
"He…Heero?"  
"Something's wrong and you know it. What do you not trust me. I'm…. I'm… I'm worried about you, koi."  
"Heero," Duo whispered before he shot across the room and into Heero's arms. "Something's wrong with Quatre, I know it. Something happened between him and Trowa and now, now everything's wrong." Duo began crying onto his lover's chest as he finished.  
"Shh baby, it's alright," Heero said as he held him tighter. "I knew it was something bad. He tries to help everyone out." Heero thought to himself. "Is that everything, Duo?" Heero asked gently. Not risking words, Duo nodded his head, but didn't leave from his spot.   
"I'm sure Quatre is fine," Heero said as he slowly got up and pulled Duo towards the bed. "You need to sleep," He told his lover as he undressed him.  
"But what if he's not?" Duo asked meekly as Heero climbed into bed with him. Heero looked into his lover's watery violet eyes and knew he couldn't lie to him, not now, not ever.  
"We'll take care of him," Heero replied, gathering Duo to him and tried to soothe him.  
"Heero?"  
"Hn."  
"I love you."  
"I…I…I know." Heero stuttered out, still unable to give his love what he wanted, but Duo seemed content and snuggled closer.  
"I hope Quatre's alright, for both of their sakes," Heero thought to himself as he listened to Duo fall asleep.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre blinked his eyes open. His room was dark and there was finally no one watching him. He gripped the side of the bed tightly and all but rolled off, catching himself before he fell. He stumbled over to his door and looked out. The entire house was dark. He walked out his door and walked along the wall to the bathroom. Inside, he shut the door, not bothering to lock it because the latch didn't work anyway, and he turned the shower on to as hot as it would go. He sat on the toilet and roughly undressed himself. He felt as if Trowa's blood still clung to him, as if it had been absorbed into his skin. He stood up and clung to the sink for support. There was a razor sitting on it, used for the occasional spurt of facial hair. Quatre ran it against his arm and a thin line of blood followed it. He threw the razor against the wall and got into the shower. The water scalded him but he didn't care. Finding that he couldn't stand, he curled up in the corner of the shower, letting the water burn his skin. The wrappings around his shoulder and leg came loose and finally fell off, and his shoulder wound started bleeding again. He began crying, then sobbing. He could still feel Trowa's blood on him. It burned more than the water.   
[Piper]  
If there was one thing Duo hated, it was waking up in the middle of the night for no reason. It was one thing if you had to pee, but otherwise why wake up.  
"I might as well get something to drink," he grumbled under his breath as he pulled out of Heero's arms.   
"Duo?" his lover sleepily asked as he tried to wake up.  
"Shh, I'm just getting some water, go back to sleep." Duo waited for Heero to grunt then went out of the room. He knew Heero would wait for him to get back to sleep, he always did. "Idiot bastard," the American grunted as he stumbled along to the kitchen, at least until he heard the shower running.  
"What the," he mumbled as he went to the bathroom. He could hear something from inside. Duo quietly stalked to the bathroom door and he cautiously pushed the door open. What he saw scared him.  
"Quatre?" The braided boy asked to the sobbing ball of flesh. "Kat, oh God, what happened?" he said as he walked to the shower and turned off the scalding water. For once Duo was at a loss for words as he picked up his blonde teammate and carried him to Quatre's room. He put the frail boy down and went back to the doorway he called Heero, who came running.  
"Duo, what's wrong?" Heero asked, immediately awake.  
"It's… it's Quatre. Get Sally."  
Heero ran out the door and came back in with the doctor who began wrapping and disinfecting his arm while Duo rewrapped his shoulder and leg.  
"What could've happened?" Sally asked when she finished.  
"I don't know. I found him sobbing sitting in the shower in scalding water." Duo replied as he gently took the slight boy in his arms, wary of the wounds.  
"I suggest we put him on suicide watch. I guess you want first, huh Duo. Make sure to be calming and supportive when he wakes up," Sally instilled as she left the room.  
"I will," Duo replied.  
"You gonna stay with him all night?" Heero asked as he sat beside Duo.  
"Yeah. He's like the brother I never had, ya know. Go back to sleep He-chan. You're still not completely healed."  
"Hn," Heero replied as he kissed Duo lightly and left the room, firmly shutting the door behind him.   
"Don't worry Quatre, it'll be alright," Duo soothed as he too began to cry.   
"It has to be."  
[Cameron]  
Quatre opened his eyes to darkness. He began to weakly struggle against the arms that were holding, feeling like he was trapped in a nightmare. The arms tightened and Quatre whimpered. Then he heard the voice of his captor,  
"Hey, relax, Quatre. It's just me. It's Duo. Everything's fine."   
Quatre relaxed again, letting his head fall against Duo's shoulder.  
"Duo?" he asked quietly, "Why am I here? How did I get out of the bathroom?" He could feel Duo tense.  
"Quatre- I… I found you…" Duo said, sounding like it hurt him. "I found you in the shower. You-" He stopped. He couldn't go on.  
"You should have left me, Duo," Quatre whispered. "It's still there, I have to wash it off, I have to-" Duo began rocking.  
"No, Quatre, I won't leave you!" He yelled. He realized his tone of voice and said, in a gentler tone, "Quatre, you're like a brother to me. Don't you know that? And brothers don't abandon each other." He squeezed Quatre a little tighter. "Now, what happened to cause all this? What happened on that mission?" Quatre tensed in his arms.  
"Trowa…" he whispered. "I- I betrayed Trowa." Duo began rubbing Quatre's back. Quatre seemed to relax a little. He told Duo about the mission, beginning to cry not far into his story. Duo listened quietly, continuing to rub his back.  
"Quatre," Duo said when he was finished, "you did what you had to. You did what any of us would've done. Trowa is going to be fine. He's alive and his injuries won't affect him longer than a couple months. You have nothing to blame yourself for."  
Quatre shuddered against him. "Trowa's blood is on my hands, Duo. It will never come off."  
"Your hands are clean, Quatre. There is no blood on them. You are innocent."  
Quatre twisted against Duo's hold. "No!" he cried. "You don't understand! I can never be forgiven! Let me go Duo, don't touch me!" Duo held on tightly. When Quatre had worn himself out Duo looked him directly in the eyes.  
"Listen to me, Quatre," he said quietly. "You can be forgiven. And you will be. I'm sure of it. But you must forgive yourself first. Will you do that?"  
Another tear slipped out of Quatre's eye and slid down his cheek.  
"I don't know if I can, Duo. I just- I don't know."  
Duo's eyes became suspiciously wet as he stood up and set Quatre down on his bed.  
"Please try, Quatre. I want you to try." He said and covered Quatre with a sheet, careful not to let it rub against his raw skin. Quatre nodded and his eyes began to droop.  
"Duo?" he asked softly. Duo leaned forward to hear him better.   
"Yes?"  
"Will you- will you stay with me tonight?" Quatre asked, suddenly looking like a small child. Duo smiled sadly and brushed some of Quatre's hair out of his face.  
"Of course I will. Now, you need to sleep."  
"Thank you." Quatre whispered. "Good night, Duo."  
"Good night," Duo said, and waited for Quatre to fall asleep to let the tears he had been holding fall.  
[Piper]  
Wufei didn't think life would ever be normal again. It'd been a week since the Quatre incident and Wufei was currently on "suicide watch" over Quatre.  
"Oh, come off it, Wufei," the blonde pilot snapped back. Quatre gad gotten more volatile every day since his accident.  
"Like I want to do this," Wufei snapped back. He was slowly growing to dislike Quatre, despite his trying to be neutral about the whole ordeal. They were currently sitting in his room while Sally cleaned out the Arabian's room, claiming that it made the whole house smell with its excess of pointless garbage. Wufei turned from this glaring teammate and looked out the window. He could hear Quatre grumbling behind him. He ignored him until they heard the doorbell ring.   
"I'll get it," Quatre yelled as he ran out of the room as fast as he could with his still healing leg.   
"Wait, Quatre," Wufei yelled after him as he ran down the hall. They both nearly ran over Heero and Duo who were carrying Trowa to the couch in the den. "Sorry," Wufei grunted as he followed the blonde who currently was looking out the opened door to some man outside.  
"What do you want?" Quatre asked, sneering. "We don't want to buy anything."  
"I'm not a salesman," the man replied. "I'm looking for…"  
"They're not here," Duo cut him off as he sat Trowa down.  
"But this is where…" the man started again.  
"Where nothing. We're the only ones who live here. And if you think you can come barging in here like you own the place, and another thing," Duo ranted until Quatre cut him off.  
"We don't want to buy anything."  
"Boys, what's all this noise about?" Sally called from within as she walked to the front room. "You guys need to quit fighting, oh my!" Wufei wondered why Sally looked so shocked to see their visitor that she'd even stop mid-rant.  
"Hello Sally," the man said cheerfully.  
"Alec," Sally replied, her voice like ice. The pilots all looked at each other and settled down to watch the show.  
"Can I come in?" He asked.  
"No," she replied in a tone that rivaled Heero's.  
"Do you understand how hard it was to find you?" Alec asked as he walked into the room uninvited.  
"That was the point. You broke up with me, remember," she all but yelled.  
"I was wrong. I'm sorry."  
"Ha! Sorry. You've never been sorry in your whole life. Your bed is just getting cold and you want me to come back to warm it up. Well I DON'T THINK SO!"  
"But, but honey, I…"  
"You nothing. And don't Honey me you selfish bastard. You're just mad cause I finally saw you for the spirit-sucking slug you are. Now get out of my house."  
"Your house. Your house. Now I see why you left. You've been warming these five's beds the whole time, huh. Finally I see you for your true colors, a gold digging WHORE!"  
Wufei had never seen Sally so mad and frankly he was tired of this slime who dared to be regarded with Sally. "How dare you call her a whore," the Chinese pilot yelled out. "She's here taking care of us. In fact, you see those other four," he said, gesturing wildly at the other pilots, "Well they're all gay. I suggest you leave before you get beat up by a bunch of scrawny 'boys'."  
Alec took a look around the room and noticed the death glares in his direction. "Fine, I'll leave. Besides, you were only good for a lay and even then you weren't very good."  
Wufei couldn't take it anymore and broke the jerk's nose as he slugged him across the face. "You have no HONOR!" Wufei roared as he picked up Alec's disgraceful form and threw him into the yard.  
"Don't come crawling back to me, Sally," Alec yelled, trying to save his pride.  
"I would never come back to you, NEVER!" she yelled as she slammed the door.  
Wufei then realized Sally's hidden beauty. She was gorgeous when angry, but also deadly. He took in the other four pilot's looks from Trowa's raised eyebrow to Duo's open-mouthed gaze.  
"Oh Wufei. Thank you." He heard a female voice behind him.  
"Humph, onna," he grunted in return, trying to keep his feelings in check.  
"That jerk! I don't see what I ever saw in him. I need a shower," Sally grumbled as she went down the hall before quickly returning. "Oh yeah, I forgot," she said as she kissed Wufei's cheek. "Thanks again for sticking up for me."  
Wufei looked awestruck at her retreating form as he raised a hand to his cheek.  
"Woah! That was odd," he heard Duo exclaim behind him.  
"I told him we wouldn't buy anything," Quatre smirked.  
Water had always soothed Sally. She loved rainstorms and baths and taking showers. And right now she needed something to calm her down. "That asshole," she thought to herself as she gathered up a change of clothes and stomped into the bathroom. "Why did I ever go out with him."  
Sally began to start the water, trying to get the water just the right amount of hot and cold. She got under the therapeutic stream and began to sing, another thing that helped soothe her.  
He said honey  
You've gotten tough  
Because my tone was curt  
Yeah, and when I'm approached  
In a dark alley  
I don't lift  
My skirt  
In this city  
Self preservation  
Is a full-time  
Occupation  
I'm determined to survive  
On these shores  
I don't avert   
My eyes  
Anymore  
In a man's world I am  
A woman by birth  
And after 19 times around I have found  
They will stop at nothing once they know what you are worth  
Talk to me now  
I played the powerless  
In too many dark scenes  
I was blessed with a birth and a death  
And I guess I just want some say in between   
Don't you understand  
In the day to day  
In the face to face  
I have to act as strong as I can  
Just to preserve a place  
Where I can be who I am  
So if you still know how  
You can talk to me now (1)  
As she finished her anthem she felt a great deal better and was now ready to face the world, or at least her roommates.  
Duo couldn't believe what he'd just seen. First Sally's ex shows up out of nowhere and Sally goes ballistic, then Wufei decides to blow his top too. All in a day's work. And now he could hear Sally singing in the shower.  
"We should have told her how thin the wall to the bathroom is." Trowa muttered to the silent room.  
"Hn." Heero agreed.  
"Wait, did Sally say she was living here?" Wufei asked.  
"Yeah, she did." Quatre mumbled from his corner. All eyes turned on Duo.  
"What? She had nowhere else to go, and you saw the bastard she was living with and besides… she's a doctor and nice and doesn't take up too much room." Duo babbled to his fellow pilots.   
"True. When were you going to tell us?" Wufei pointedly asked.  
"Umm, hey! Trowa knew," Duo replied, pointing at the uni-banged pilot.  
"Trowa?" Heero stated flatly.  
"I answered the door when she showed up," Trowa answered back. All eyes left him and turned back to Duo. Just as Duo tried to think of a way out the shower bathroom door opened.  
"Hey Sally," The braided boy all but yelled.  
"Hi guys," she called back, waving a bit. She was currently dressed in sweatpants and a ratty T-shirt with her hair pulled back. Duo looked over at Wufei to see the Shenlong pilot's approving glance. At that moment Shinigami began to think of what excellent blackmail material he now had.   
"Hello," Wufei called as the others nodded.  
"Well, I'm gonna go work on Deathscythe," Duo said as he made his way to the door. The others said good-bye in their usual way leaving Duo to his miscellaneous thoughts. "This'll be good," he thought to himself as he went to the hanger.  
[Cameron]  
Quatre opened his eyes and glanced at his clock. It was 1:00 AM. The green glow of the clock reflected lightly onto the sleeping Duo. Quatre slid out from under his sheets and stepped on the floor, staying as quiet as possible. Duo mumbled something about soup but stayed asleep. Quatre snuck out the door and into the hallway. He put his hand up against the wall and walked until he felt a door- Trowa's. He opened it as quietly as he could and slipped inside, closing the door behind him. The only sound was of Trowa's soft breathing. Quatre reached out in front of him and made his was through the almost tangible darkness. Trowa's room had no windows, so naturally it was the darkest place in the house. Finally Quatre found the bed and kneeled down beside it. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he could see Trowa's face outlined into the darkness. Quatre choked back a sob forming in his throat. He loved to look at Trowa's face, but couldn't bear to in the daytime now. He couldn't bear Trowa's eyes on him.  
"I'm sorry," he whispered into the darkness. "I'm sorry."  
It's been a while  
Since I could...  
Hold my head up high  
It's been a while  
Since I first saw you  
It's been a while  
Since I could stand  
On my own two feet again  
And it's been a while  
Since I could call you  
And everything I can remember  
As fucked up as it all may seem  
Consequences that I've rendered  
Have stretched myself beyond my means  
It's been a while  
Since I could say  
That I wasn't addicted  
It's been a while  
Since I could say  
I loved myself as well and...  
It's been a while  
Since I've gone and fucked things up  
Just like I always do  
It's been a while  
But all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you  
And everything I can remember  
As fucked up as it all may seem  
Consequences that I've rendered  
Gone and fucked things up again... again  
Why must I feel this way?  
Just make this go away  
Just one more peaceful day  
It's been a while  
Since I could...  
Look at myself straight  
It's been a while  
Since I said I'm sorry  
It's been a while  
Since I've seen the way  
The candles light your face  
It's been a while  
But I can still  
Remember just the way you taste  
  
Everything I can remember  
As fucked up as it all may seem  
To be... I know its me  
I can not blame this on my father  
He did the best he could for me  
It's been a while  
Since I could...  
Hold my head up high  
It's been a while  
Since I said I'm sorry (2)  
"Quatre," a voice said and Quatre jumped and stared down at Trowa's now awake face.  
"Trowa?" he asked, his eyes wide. He began backing away from the bed.  
"Wait!" Trowa called, reaching towards him. "Wait, Quatre. Don't go." Quatre stopped.  
"Trowa, I can't- I can't- Oh Trowa, I'm sorry!" he cried.  
"Come here." Trowa said gently. "Come on, Quatre, we've got to talk."  
Quatre walked up to the bed and kneeled beside it again.  
"Alright, Trowa. But I can't promise you anything."  
"I'm not asking anything of you except to listen. Just listen to me, Quatre."  
  
(1) Ani DiFranco, "Talk to Me Now"  
(2) Staind, "It's Been A While" 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
[Cameron]  
Trowa had woken up to the small noises around his room. He usually wasn't such a light sleeper, but with his injuries it was hard to really sleep deeply. He figured it was probably Sally or someone, so he kept his eyes closed and tried to fall back asleep. He was startled to hear someone speaking to him.  
"I'm sorry." the high, sweet voice said. "I'm sorry." Trowa's eyes flew open. It was Quatre, kneeling beside his bed and looking like he was about to cry. He began to hear the strains of a song. It hurt him to hear Quatre singing those things. He could hear the hurt in his friend's voice.   
"Quatre," Trowa said softly after Quatre had finished singing. After convincing Quatre to stay, he could finally tell him what he'd been trying to since they got back to the house.   
"Quatre," Trowa said, grasping Quatre's hand, "you must stop blaming yourself." Quatre began to innturupt, but Trowa put his free hand over his mouth. "Shhh. You told me you'd listen. Will you?" Trowa asked. Quatre nodded slightly, looking defeated.   
"Alright. This isn't your fault. Look at me, Quatre. I'm alive. I'll be ok. It… it hurts me to see you like this. Hurts me more than anything physical could. Quatre- you know I'm not good at words. I can't express myself like you can. But if you'd- if you'd open your heart like I know you can, you'd feel it. Please Quatre, allow yourself to know what I'm feeling."  
Quatre stared back at him. Then he closed his eyes and sank down beside the bed. He allowed himself to open up the link between them, something he'd been afraid to do since meeting Trowa, afraid of rejection or hatred. But now, in the middle of a dark room, slumped over on the floor, Quatre found love. Inside of Trowa, directed towards him, there was love and acceptance. He opened his eyes and looked at Trowa again, his eyes filled with amazement and barely contained excitement. Trowa was smiling slightly.   
"T-Trowa?" Quatre asked hesitantly, reaching out his hand. Trowa held it tightly.   
"I love you, Quatre," he said quietly. Quatre leaned down and caught his lips in a tentative kiss. When he leaned away from him, Quatre looked relieved.   
"I love you too, Trowa," he said, and smiled for the first time in a week. Trowa gave him a small smile back.  
"Trowa, please let me tell you that I'm sorry," Quatre said after a moment. Trowa reached for his hand again.  
"I don't blame you," he said, "but I forgive you."  
Quatre smiled at him again and stood up to leave.   
"Wait!" Trowa called. Quatre turned towards him. "Can you sleep with me tonight?" Realizing what his request sounded like, Trowa blushed in the darkness. But Quatre understood him and crawled in bed beside him, being careful of his wounds. Trowa laid a protective arm around him and they slept like this all night, regardless of what Duo implied.   
[Piper]  
Quatre was missing. Duo had woken up to a sense of impending doom. The doom, of course, was coming from Sally, who was standing over him.   
"Duo!" she shrieked,"Where the hell is Quatre?"  
Shinigami blinked at her for a moment before sleepily replying, "In his bed."  
"You idiot, you think I haven't looked there? Now get up and find HIM!"  
Duo mumbled as he pulled himself off his cot on the floor. He ran into the doorway as he bumbled around. Behind him Sally continued to fume.  
"She must've gotten up on the wrong side of the bed," Duo grumbled. He started out by looking in his and Heero's room, the bathroom, then Wufei's. All he found was his sleeping lover and a pissed off Wufei, since Duo had inturrupted his shower by sticking his head inside the curtain.   
Wufei enjoyed his mornings. He would do his morning katas and meditation, then take a long shower before all the hot water was gone. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was braided Americans running into the bathroom while he was in the shower. Then he heard some baka yell.  
"What the..." Wufei started as he ran out of the bathroom in only his pants.   
"Wufei," he heard a voice grunt beside him as he ran towards Duo's yell.  
"Heero," he answered back as they stood in front of Trowa's room where they were met by a hysterical Duo and a stern Sally.  
"Sally," Wufei stated as he took in the scene.  
"Duo! What is wrong with you?" She all but yelled, ignoring Wufei and Heero. Duo was laughing too hard to answer so he just pointed into Trowa's room.  
Wufei and Heero stuck their heads inside where they saw two bundles under the covers. They shared a look as Sally pushed them aside.   
"What's so fun...oh. We better leave them," she began backing out of the room.   
Duo kept laughing until he started chocking. Wufei decided to help him out by slapping him on the back, which made Duo hit the wall, which made Sally start laughing, that is until they heard a timid voice call, "Can you guys be quiet, Trowa's sleeping." The four out in the hallway turned wide eyed to the sleepy-eyed Quatre.   
[Cameron]  
Trowa had woken to Duo's screams, but simply tightened his grip on the small warm bundle beside him. After the noise escalated, he could feel Quatre getting up and he breathed a silent sigh. After a moment to gather his energy, he opened his eyes and swung one leg onto the floor. He grabbed the big stick Duo had put beside his bed and used it to help him up. Limping to the door, he could see Duo berating Quatre for his choice of sleeping partners.  
"You know, I was the one who suggested it." Trowa said quietly. Everyone spun around to look at him except Heero, who'd already seen him and was smirking slightly.  
Quatre smiled at him. "Morning koi," he said quietly. Duo blanched.   
"Koi? So you guys are really... together?" he asked, running up to them. Trowa nodded. "Wow!" Duo yelled, "Well, it's about time, but congratulations anyway!"  
Quatre grinned. "Thanks Duo." He turned to Trowa. "I'll make breakfast this morning. You want me to help you to the kitchen?" Trowa shook his head and they began down the hallway. Sally walked up beside them.  
"How 'bout pancakes for breakfast?" she asked.   
Quatre groaned. "Not pancakes! They take so much work!" Duo laughed and ran in front of them.  
"You lazy bum!" He yelled, then whooped, "We get a real breakfast!"  
"You know, I was just going to make you guys oatmeal or something," Quatre grumbled as he walked behind Duo.   
[Piper]  
Sally was finally getting used to living with the pilots. She knew about their quirks and she was getting used to sleeping on the couch. Duo kept on making jokes about how her getting Trowa's room soon, but Trowa and Quatre were taking it slow and still sleeping in their own rooms. The only problem was the fact that she was living with five male pilots which meant that she was always the odd one out. Case in point, movie choices. Everytime they had to pick a movie to watch Sally got voted out five to one. And she was tired of it. The boys were currently on a short mission, so Sally did the only thing she could think of, call her best girlfriend and invite her over.   
Duo always hated when the mission high wore off. Instead of being Shinigami he was back to being that kid with the braid. He felt dirty and hungry and tired. All he wanted was a bath and a nap. And maybe some food.  
"Hey Sally, you got anymore of that, whoa, who'd that?"  
Duo stopped short as he entered the house, seeing an unknown woman sitting beside Sally.  
"Duo, what's wrong?" Quatre called as he walked into the house. "You sounded suprised and, oh, hello, who are you?" Quatre asked the new woman.  
"Oh, this is my friend, Luc..." Sally started until a loud voice came from outside.  
"Woman! Why is there a car sitting outside the house?" Wufei ranted as he walked in the room.  
"Wait, I know that voice," The stranger stated. "But when and where?"  
Sally was about to begin introductions when Heero and Trowa walked in the room. Trowa went and sat beside Quatre, who was sitting on the other couch, while Heero went to stand next to Duo, who still had his mouth open. Meanwhile, the woman beside Sally kept on mumbling to herself.  
"Hey, I remember you now. You're that Gundam pilot from Victoria," the woman said, looking proud of herslef. "Hey, and there are five of you, so you must be the Gundam pilots, Sally, why didn't you tell me?"  
Sally groaned while Wufei looked more than a little peeved. Trowa and Quatre just looked shocked, and Duo held Heero back, who was ready to kill. Sally got up, determined to stop the bloodshed she knew could come at any moment.   
"Everyone, this is Lucretia Noin. You can call her Noin," Sally began as she pointed to the woman beside her who gave a little wave. "And this is Heero, Duo, Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre, my roomates."  
Duo waved and Quatre smiled as Sally pointed to them while Heero and Wufei glared and Trowa looked indifferent.   
"Wow, well this is odd. I bet Laird would love to meet them, don't you think so, Sally?" Noin asked.   
"Well, um, Luc, the thing is..." Sally mumbled when Duo inturrupted her.  
"Who's Laird?" 02 asked.  
"Oh, he's my boyfriend. He's a soldier."  
"Really. Well, I guess he could come see us. I mean, Sally seems to trust you so I guess we can," Quatre stated, looking at the other pilots.   
"Great. I'll call him. Where's the phone?"  
"We don't have one, onna." Wufei grunted.   
"Alright, I guess I'l use my cell," she answered as she went outside to call him.   
Heero had a bad feeling. First there was that strange woman at the safehouse with Sally and now they were waiting for the woman's boyfriend to show up. All in all, Heero had wanted more than anything for the woman to leave, or maybe everyone but Duo. On that thought he started walking towards his braided lover who was sprawled across the ratty old armchair in the corner.  
"Duo," he stated softly.  
"Oh, hey Heero. Something wrong?"  
"Hn."  
"You're worried about Noin, aren't you? Well, don't be. We'll be fine koi, you know that," Duo said, giving Heero a bright grin of reassurance.  
"Hey guys!" they heard Quatre yell from his seat near the window."There's someone here."  
Everyone got up and moved to the window where they watched Sally and Noin embrace a tall blonde hairded man who looked strangly familiar.   
"Who knows what those onnas have done. We should go out as well," Wufei stated.  
"I think you just want to protect Sally in case he's some murderer," Duo answered slyly.  
"Well, we must be good hosts and introduce ourselves," Quatre said mildly as he went to open the door. The pilots followed him outside, all at various stages of worry. Heero gave the man a once over. He knew he'd seen this man before. Quatre walked right over to the tall man, stuck his hand out and said, "Hi, I'm Quatre."  
"Hello. I am Zechs Marquise," the tall blonde answered.  
Shock filtered across all five of the Gundam pilots' faces. Zechs Marquis. The man they had been fighting against for so many months. The Lightning Count of 02. The Enemy.  
"Oh, way to break it subtly Zechs," Sally said sarcasticly.   
"What," the said man answered,"I decided to be blunt. Come on, Sally, you know me."  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sally replied.   
"You two are too alike," Noin said laughingly.  
Heero was still in shock as he watched the two women joke around with Zechs. Heero had unconciously moved in front of Duo when they found out who Noin's boyfriend was. He noticed that Trowa was standing beside Quatre and Wufei looked upset. Then Sally turned back to them.  
"Sorry about suprising you guys," she said to the five pilots. "Zechs, Noin, and I have been friends for a long time. Don't worry, they won't tell anyone where you live."  
She smiled reassuringly as her two friends nodded, agreeing with her statement. The Gundam pilots didn't look impressed.   
"A happy lot, aren't you," Noin said sarcasticly. When no one said anything she turned to Zechs. "Maybe we should go."  
"That's probably the best thing to do," Zechs answered.  
"Fine, fine, get going then. I'll talk to them," Sally replied as she jerked her thumb at the frozen pilots. "I'll call you later Luc."  
"Alright. See ya later!" Noin called as she got into Zech's car.   
"Bye Luc, bye Laird," Sally called and waved.  
"Good-bye Sally," Zechs yelled back as he started the car up and drove away.  
"Um, sorry," Sally said meekly as she turned to her angry roomates, all of whom looked like they wanted to kill. Strangly enough, it was the one that invited her to stay that lost it first.  
"What were you thinking," Duo thundered. "You brought two of Oz'a top officials to our safe house. I can't hardly call it a safe house anymore since Oz KNOWS WHERE IT IS!" the American pilot stormed out of the room, followed by his Japanese lover. The front door slammed as they left the house. Sally stared at the door for a few moments, until she got up the courage to look at the other three. Wufei looked upset, Trowa looked like a statue, and Quatre had an odd look on his face.   
"Sally, why did you invite those two over?" Quatre asked.  
"Luc is my best friend and she's been worried about me so she wanted to see who I lived with. Same with Laird, he's been like an older brother to me. Besides, I just wanted some female companionship. I've lived with five guys too long for my sanity. And don't worry, those two won't tell anyone where we live."  
"Yeah, right," Wufei snorted.  
"No, they won't," Sally shot back. "Besides, you guys, I've got some blackmail. Have ou ever heard of Milliardo Peacecraft?"  
"Relena's older brother. I thought he was dead," Quatre questioned, giving Sally an odd look as her face broke into a grin.   
"Of course he's not dead. Why today you met him and his lovely girlfriend."  
"What!" All three pilots yelled. 


End file.
